To Heal a Crack
by charmedbaby21894
Summary: Things have gotten bad at McKinley High School. Now that she is single, the bullying has been stepped up. After her fathers die in a home invasion, Rachel begins to discover things about herself. At the same time Quinn, Brittany, and Santana have been outed to their families. Relatives in New York step up to take in the now homeless teens. Mentions rape Faberry Brittana AlexOlivia
1. All She Has Left

All She Has Left

A/N: **READ THIS BEFORE YOU START! **This is an AU crossover between Law and Order SVU and Glee. There are mentions of rape and assault in later chapters though there are no direct scenes about it. I will give a notice in the beginning of the chapters that contain those scenes. This is also a femslash story with Alex/Olivia, Brittney/Santana, and Rachel/Quinn. It is set for the most part in New York.

Rachel Barbra Berry had had enough. She was tired of everyone running over her and acting like she was the root of every problem. Just because she worked for the things she wanted doesn't mean that she was being shown favoritism! She had gotten to the point where she was just going through the motions; go to school, get harassed, go to class, get shoved into a locker, go to glee, get railroaded, go home, and repeat. She was losing sleep at night and her grades were suffering. All around her, the teachers did nothing and the perpetrators got away with bullying and even assault.

And to top it all off, she had been feeling weird lately. Sometimes she was burning up hot, like the sun was inside her body, burning her from the inside out. Other times, she would feel like water was running over her skin. Or there would be a breeze wrapping around her even if there was no wind. The young starlet was beginning to question her sanity.

The brunette had spent the past week staying up late and thinking about what she wanted to do. No, what she needed to do. Rachel had already contacted her aunt in New York and now she just needed to convince her fathers that moving there was in her best interest. As she drove home, she mentally composed a PowerPoint presentation listing all of the reasons why they should let her move.

As she approached her house, Rachel could feel that something was wrong. For one, the door to the Berry home was slightly open. She parked her silver Kia and got out, rolling her bag behind her. She carefully placed her coat on the hook and leaving her backpack in the closet. She took off her shoes and entered the kitchen.

"Dad? Daddy?" the diminutive brunette called hesitantly while moving around the island. What she saw would stay in her dreams for years to come…

Her fathers were bound in a seated position, back-to-back with gags in their mouths. There were cuts all over their bodies and each had a wound right over their hearts. Rachel screamed and fell to her knees. Her neighbor, having just gotten home from work and heard her sobbing, found her twenty minutes later, sobbing over the cooling bodies of Leroy and Hiram Berry.

The neighbor, Ms. Jacobson called the police and an ambulance and cradled the distraught girl in her arms, murmuring nonsense in her ear and stroking her hair as the house was swarmed by men and women in uniforms.

"Ma'am, we need to take her to the hospital and see if she has any injuries and the police need to talk to you," a male EMT said, reaching down to take Rachel's hands. He pulled the tiny teenager up and the woman stared after her as the brunette was led away.

The next day, Lieutenant Jameson Dawes entered the hospital room of Rachel Berry to find the girl seated with her knees drawn up to her chest and her head down.

"Ms. Berry? My name is Lt. Dawes and I'm here to take your statement," the burly man said gently as he closed the door. He took a seat as Rachel lifted her head and stared at him with dead eyes.

"I came home from school, wanting to talk to my fathers. The door was open. It was odd but I ignored it. I went into the kitchen and that's when I found them," the normally verbose teen stated emotionlessly, still in shock over finding her Dad and Daddy dead.

"So you didn't see anyone exiting your home?" he pressed, leaning forward to stare at her. She shook her head.

"No, sir," she replied quietly. His heart was breaking silently for the teenager.

"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your fathers?" Dawes asked. The girl gave a dark chuckle.

"Try the majority of Lima. Daddy and Dad made quite the scandalous pair, being two men in love and raising a daughter. It didn't matter that Daddy is a lawyer with the prosecutor's office and Dad is a pediatric surgeon. Well, was I guess," she stated, tears falling from her red eyes. The detective scratched his cheek nervously as a nurse poked her head in the room and gave him a venomous glare.

"Um is there someone I can call for you Ms. Berry?" he asked hastily, standing up and tucking his notebook in his coat pocket.

"No, sir. I called my aunt in New York. She should be here soon," she replied, closing her eyes and wiping her face.

"I am very sorry for your loss, Ms. Berry. I will do everything in my power to find whoever is responsible for this heinous crime," he vowed, nodding his head and leaving her room. As the man was exiting the building, a tall, powerfully built woman got out of a cab and ran towards the entrance. The two bumped into each other.

"Sorry!" the tall brunette woman called as she entered the building. Dawes stared after her for a moment before shaking his head and leaving the facility.

Detective Olivia Benson rushed into Lima Memorial Hospital and skidded to a stop in front of the front desk.

"Excuse me, what room is Rachel Berry in?" she asked, brushing her short brown hair out of her eyes. The nurse at the desk looked at her and gave her a plastic smile before clicking away on the computer.

"She's in 214," the nurse replied, not even looking up as she heard the sound of the taller woman jogging down the hall and to the stairwell.

Not even three minutes later, Olivia was standing outside of Rachel's room. Her heart broke when she saw the still figure on the bed.

"Oh, baby girl," she whispered, shaking her head and squaring her shoulders. She knocked gently on the door and opened it. Rachel slowly raised her head off her knees and whiskey met chocolate. Olivia sat behind her adopted niece and wrapped her arms around the trembling girl.

"Let it all out, baby," she said, rocking her back and forth. It took Rachel all of thirty seconds to allow the tears to once again fall. The duo sat together on the bed for the next two hours, crying and talking about all the times they shared with Leroy and Hiram.

"Baby, I know you don't want to talk about this but we need to decide what you're going to do," Olivia started, hesitantly running a hand through thick brown locks.

"What do you mean?" Rachel responded, sitting up and wiping her face. Her aunt took a deep breath.

"Your fathers…They left everything to you and they weren't exactly paupers. There's the house and the cars and the funeral," she said, hating that she was bringing this up so early.

"I…I don't know! I just lost them and I don't know what I want to do or what I need to do!" Rachel told her, heart constricting in her chest at the thought of her fathers' deaths.

"It's ok, it's ok. We don't have to worry about this right now. We have time to decide what to do," Olivia soothed, rubbing the teen's back.

"I just lost them and now what do I do?" Rachel sobbed, burying her face in the older woman's neck. Olivia sighed sadly and wrapped one arm around the tiny girl, rocking her until she fell into a fitful sleep.

Half an hour after Rachel fell asleep, Olivia felt her phone buzz in her pocket and sneakily pulled it out, opening it and smiling as her lover's name flashed across the screen.

"Hey baby, what's up?"

"Things here are going to take a little more time than I thought. The judge is going to sign the papers tomorrow on all three of them and then we're going to go and collect their things and head back to New York."

"I think it'll be longer than that. Leroy and Hiram…someone broke into their home and killed them. And now we're all Rachel has left. Their bodies will be released on Friday and we need to bury them and sort out all of the paperwork and Rach needs to decide what to do with the house and everything and God, we're all she has left," Olivia rambled, letting out a little cry into the phone. Her love hushed her gently.

"We're all going to be okay. It won't be that hard to add one more into our plans."

"She's being discharged tonight. She'll want to go to school tomorrow and say goodbye, turn in her books. I'll withdraw her and the others after classes end."

"We're going to get a couple of hotel rooms and I'm going to explain exactly what's going on to them. They need to understand that it's not their fault."

"I love you."

"Love you too Liv."

Olivia sighed as she put the phone down on the night stand next to the bed and cradled Rachel in her arms. Her eyes widened as she saw, or rather felt, something strange happening to the girl in her lap. Her skin grew warm and something like a warm breeze ruffled their hair, seemingly coming from nowhere. A scent of the ocean mixed with pine needles wafted from the girl and Olivia stared at her, eyes wide and mouth open.

Could her niece, her Rachel, be the one that they were all waiting for? Thinking back on Rachel's life and then the mysterious incident that had just occurred, Olivia had to smile. Her little niece was so important and Rachel had no idea.


	2. History Lessons

History Lessons

A/N: I know next to nothing about custody cases so I kind of made it up as I went along. **WARNING! THIS CHAPTER MENTIONS RAPE AND ASSAULT! **

I also realized that I did not give the setting for this story. It is set in the girls' senior year in late August. This is an A/U story with no Babygate and Shelby Corcoran did not work with Vocal Adrenalin. She will be explained later. 

The mood in the dark blue sedan was somber as it pulled into the parking lot of the Municipal Courthouse of Columbus. The occupants of the vehicle were all silent. Alexandra Cabot, Assistant District Attorney for the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, ran a hand through her hair and turned in her seat to look at the other three females in the car.

"Are you guys ready for this?" she asked, making eye contact with Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez, and Brittany Pierce.

"What's going to happen, Aunt Alex?" Brittany asked, holding Santana's hand.

"Well, your parents have already signed the papers awarding me custody of the three of you. I've signed them and now we're going in to have the judge approve them. Afterwards, we're going to leave directly from here and we'll have an hour at each of your houses to grab what you want to take. We are going to load everything onto the truck and the movers will drive it to New York. I will take you to school so you can drop off your books and say goodbye and then we'll leave Sunday night," the woman replied.

"I thought we were leaving tonight?" Quinn asked quietly. Alex sighed internally.

"That was the plan until last night. My partner's goddaughter lost both of her parents on Wednesday and she's here to take her back to New York. It makes more sense to take everyone's belongings back at one time," she responded.

"Is she ok?" Brittany asked, sharing a knowing look with her aunt. The dancer thought she knew exactly who her Aunt was referring to and if that was the case, the young star would need her.

"I hope so," her aunt replied. Santana and Quinn shared a look, both wanting to know the identity of the other girl.

A few minutes later, the group of four entered the courtroom, Santana walking in front with Quinn and Brittany in the middle and Alex taking up the rear. They took their seats and ignored the glaring coming from the three men sitting at the opposite table.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Martin Healy," the bailiff called a few moments later.

"Please be seated. Have we reached an agreement in the case at hand?" the man asked, brushing his salt and pepper hair out of his steely blue eyes. He nodded discretely to Russell Fabray, a longtime friend of his and the reason he agree to preside over the case within 2 days of the decision to kick the girls out.

"Yes, Your Honor, we have. It is the mutual decision of all parties involved that custody should be transferred to Alexandra Cabot until the girls complete high school or turn 18, whichever comes last. Each girl will get an hour to gather any items they wish to take from their homes and the parents will not interfere. There will be no contact between the two parties unless initiated from the parents. Ms. Cabot will have full legal and moral responsibility for the girls," Russell stated as he stood. Alex covertly squeezed the hands of Quinn and Brittany, the two on either side of her.

"We have agreed to these terms on the condition that any trust fund or other account held in care by the parents is to be signed over to the children with no changes made by the end of the week," Alex added, standing. She stole a look at her sister's husband and saw him suck in a breath. Internally, she smirked.

She knew for a fact that Brittany had at least two trust funds that were managed by her niece's father until the age of 20. She also knew that the man had been siphoning off a little money at a time from the top, claiming it to be expenses related to child-rearing.

She wished she had a bullshit button. Hannah had her own trust fund that she was supposed to be using. Alex's mother, Grace, had impressed upon her the importance of getting the trust fund released into Brittany's custody. She had a hard time controlling her smirk when Peter sent her a glare.

The judge looked over the papers and nodded, signing them in the proper places before inviting all six parents and Alex up to sign the papers.

"All parties know that once these papers are signed, they become legally binding? Yes? Good. In the matter of Fabray, Pierce, and Lopez versus Cabot, the custody of the minor children is to be awarded to Alexandra Cabot with all of the terms in the agreement made. We are adjourned," he stated. The bailiff did his duty and Santana led the two blonds away while Alex walked over to the families that had just given up their daughters.

"We'll go going to the Pierce house, then the Lopez house, and then ending at the Fabray residence. It'll take no more than 4 hours total and then you can return to your homes. The girls will leave their house keys on a counter but they are taking their vehicles," Alex told them stiffly.

"Now wait a minute! We bought those cars!" Russell interjected angrily.

"Read the agreement, Fabray. The cars and the trust funds are both listed under our terms," the lawyer replied, smirking and turning to exit, leaving the six former parents behind her.

The blond attorney met the three teenagers in her car, locking eyes with Santana and smiling sadly at the pain she could see hidden in the dark brown orbs.

"We're going to start with you, Santana. We'll go in and get everything you want to take with you. A moving truck will meet us there and then they will follow us to get Brittany's belongings and then Quinn's. My mother has sent a few of her personal assistants to drive your vehicles," she told them, putting her car in drive and pulling away from the building.

"What about Jack and Apollo?" Quinn asked from the seat next to her.

"Who?" the attorney replied distractedly.

"Jack is Quinn's German Shepherd. She found him when his mom abandoned him and nursed him to health. He's two years old now and fixed and he's so cute," Brittany told her, bouncing in her seat a little.

"Apollo is my Rottweiler. When I found out about Jack and I asked my dad for a dog. He took me to see a breeder that had a variety of dogs and Apollo just called to me. I even asked them to keep his tail intact. He's almost two," Santana explained.

"Well, as long as they're friendly, we can send them with the cars. I'll have my brothers, Connor and Tyler, watch them until we arrive. They will also make sure all of your belongings make it to the appropriate room," Alex told them. The group in the car settled into silence

"Out of curiosity, how many siblings do you have?" Quinn asked half an hour later.

"I have three brothers and three sisters. Well, two now," Alex told them.

"What do you mean?" Santana asked before Brittany elbowed her in the side.

"San! That's rude!" she admonished, her heart constricting at the pain in her Aunt's eyes.

"No, it's ok. I'll entertain you with the some of my family history, so you won't be confused when you meet them all next week. My parents, Grace and Lawrence, met at Princeton University their junior year. She was studying law and he was working on a pre-med degree. They married young, right after graduation.

"Both had been accepted to Columbia University in New York. Mom found out she was pregnant with twins a few weeks into their first semester. She wanted to drop out and be a stay-at-home mom but Dad refused. His family supported them and her family helped with childcare for the first six years while Mom graduated and then started to establish herself as a lawyer and Dad got his M.D and continued on towards his specialty, pediatrics. During this time, I was born.

"Dad finished his residency when I was 4 and was hired at Lenox Hill as a Pediatric Surgeon. Hannah, Brittany's mother, was born right before Dad's residency ended. Mom was becoming a highly respected family lawyer, specializing in adoptions and custody cases. We all grew up happy and safe. Nothing major happened. After the twins started high school, Mom and Dad decided to become foster parents. We were well beyond financially stable and they wanted to give back.

"When I was twenty, Dad took a sabbatical from Lenox Hill and joined Doctors Without Borders. He did one year in Papua New Guinea and then went to Russia. Specifically, he was needed to help at an orphanage in the middle of country that had several children with physical defects such as injured limbs, clef lip or palette, and other injuries that Dad could fix. Most of the children at this particular orphanage were young children, under the age of 10, and it was used mainly as a medical transition facility.

"There was one teenager there, however, and that caught my father's attention. She was around 15 years old and, by all accounts, was highly intelligent. Her parents had abandoned her at birth on the steps of the orphanage and she had stayed there since then. He was told that prospective parents would meet her and then refuse to adopt her, claiming that there was something weird about her. Dad thought she was a bright young woman and, after talking to Mom, arranged for them to adopt her.

"He carefully explained that something about her was calling to him and that he and his wife wanted to take her into their home and that if she wanted it, they would adopt her and take her to America. It took her a few days to decide but in the end, she agreed.

"At the end of the year, Dad and the girl, my sister Alena, returned home. Hannah was not very happy with this, believing that this new girl would take attention away from her. Tyler, Connor, and I were all excited. We bonded immediately with our new sister and spent all of our free time helping her adjust to this new country. Everyone was so excited when she was accepted at Columbia.

"When she was twenty, Alena was sexually assaulted at school. She had sustained a severe head injury, a broken leg, and two broken ribs during the assault and remembered almost nothing except for the initial meeting with him. He was later arrested and convicted of rape after bragging drunkenly to a group of friends. However after assaulting her, he left her in an alley unconscious. She woke up a few hours later and screamed herself hoarse trying to bring attention to herself. She sat there for another day and a half before someone found her and took her to an emergency room. Alena was speaking only in Russian and the nurses couldn't understand her. She was sedated and our parents were notified several hours after her admission.

"Dad spoke to her in her native tongue and extracted the story for the nurse who thought it was too late for anti-fertility drugs to be administered. Alena went through counseling as soon as she felt mentally able to. She was on the road to recovery. Except she was getting sick every morning and was suffering from severe headaches. Mom had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on with her middle daughter. She took her in for a checkup and the doctor told them that she was pregnant.

"Alena absolutely refused an abortion and stated that she was with child for a reason and our parents supported her through everything and told her that they would give her the same support that their parents had given with our brothers and me. Alena was incredibly thankful and threw herself into her coursework, majoring in Social Work and International Relations.

"At four months, she found out she was having twins and at five months, discovered they were fraternal: one was a born and the other a girl. We were all so excited and she asked Connor and I to be the godparents of her daughter and Hannah and Tyler to be the godparents of her son. We all agreed and were eagerly awaiting their arrival.

"By this time I was already out of Law School and I was practicing law, Connor was working on his Medical Doctorate, and Tyler was working with the FBI as a linguistic specialist. When she was seven months pregnant, Alena passed out while having dinner with our mother. She was rushed to the Emergency Room and soon after, we were given the devastating news: a brain tumor. Many tests later revealed that she had a stage IV Secondary Glioblastoma and that all of the after effects of the head injury and the pregnancy were masking the symptoms.

"The oncologist told her that it was risky to start her on chemotherapy but they tried it anyway. She…she lasted until she was 37 weeks and then the babies were born via cesarean. She didn't make it long after that and she gave guardianship of the twins to our parents to raise as their own. She passed away two days after their birth surrounded by her family and friends.

"She hadn't even had time to name them but Mom and Dad wanted to honor her. Isabella Alena was born first and was named after her mother. Damien Mikhail followed and was given a name from his mother's native tongue. Mom and Dad have raised them with help from all of us that are still in New York but they've always known about Alena and her life," Alex finished quietly.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Quinn stated, Santana nodding.

"Alena is at peace now and her babies are safe and cared for," the attorney replied. They had reached the town of Lima and were sitting at a stoplight. She reached for her purse and pulled out her wallet. She handed back a couple of pictures.

The first one was a picture of all five Cabot siblings; Tyler had an arm wrapped around an un-amused looking Hannah, Connor was making a funny face while Alex and Alena had their arms wrapped around each other. They looked happy and healthy.

The second picture was a weak looking Alena in a hospital bed with two newborns in her arms with her family surrounding her. It was apparent that they were trying to be upbeat but there was a deep sadness in their matching eyes.

The last picture looked to be a recent one of Alex with two blond haired blue eyed children.

"How old are Damien and Isabella now?" Santana asked.

"They just turned 10 last month," Brittany replied, snuggling up to her girlfriend. Alex nodded, pushing her tears aside.

"You'll get to meet them and the rest of my family when we get to New York. Everyone is coming over to meet you four on Friday," she told them.

A few moments later, the group pulled up outside of the Lopez home. Santana swallowed her sadness and got out of the car, walking quickly up to the door. Alex, Quinn, and Brittany followed behind carrying boxes and packing tape.


	3. What's Left of Our Lives

What's left of our Lives

_A few moments later, the group pulled up outside of the Lopez home. Santana swallowed her sadness_ _and got out of the car, walking quickly up to the door. Alex, Quinn, and Brittany followed behind carrying boxes and packing tape._

Santana led the four women into her house, up the stairs and down a hallway. She paused outside a door with her name written on it and opened it, only to be bounced upon by a rather large Rottweiler.

"Apollo! Down boy!" she laughed, rubbing his large head as the dog sat next to her.

"Why was he in your room? I thought he was trained as a guard dog and was allowed to roam the house," Quinn asked.

"I'm sure they didn't want to deal with him. He's very attached to me," the Latina replied, standing up and allowing them to enter the room.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. Q, Britts, start packing my clothes. I have some suitcases and duffle bags underneath my bed. Alex, can you start pulling everything off the walls and placing them on the bed? I'm going to pack up all of the things that I want to take with me and then I'm going to grab Apollo's things," she delegated. Everyone nodded and Quinn began to pull everything out from under the bed. Santana grabbed two duffle bags and her backpack and set off.

The dark haired teen looked around her room. What did she need to take? Alex had told them the night before that they would be allowed to decorate their room and that she would purchase any furniture that they would need. She walked into the closet and set up a box, packing all of her scrapbooks, accessories, and trinkets in the box. She taped it up and set it in the middle of her room.

Next, she packed all of her electronic devices neatly in a bag along with Apollo's toys (which were safe in a plastic bag of course). She packed all of her books in another box and had Alex place her framed pictures and awards on top. Santana grabbed a large plastic bag and put all of her bathroom supplies in it and added that to an open duffle.

"I'm going to run downstairs and put my key in the kitchen and pack up Apollo's food and dishes," she told them, whistling for the dog to follow her. She ran her hand absently up his back and frowned.

"What the? Where's your collar?" she demanded of the dog. The Rottweiler stared at her and she shook her head.

"We'll go shopping for you in New York," she promised, swallowing tears and sprang in her eyes. Her parents had removed the collar and tags from her dog, taking away that little connection she would have otherwise had with them. Apollo whined and rubbed against her leg as she dumped his bed, more toys, and his food supplies into a box.

Hearing a horn honking, she ran outside and led the moving crew and a tall man in a designer suite inside. Apollo growled gently and she hushed him, commanding him to sit by the door. The three muscular men followed her up the stairs and into her room. They started taking the boxes and bags downstairs.

"S, do you want the bed set?" Brittany asked, dancing over and kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. Santana had to suppress the urge to shy away and lash out.

"Just the blankets. Leave the sheets," she replied, looking over the room. It was sad, really, that almost eighteen years of her life was reduced to five boxes, four suitcases, and five duffle bags.

"All of these need to go down," Alex instructed the moving men. They nodded and began moving everything downstairs. The blond attorney turned to the other man in the room.

"Miles! I didn't know Mom was sending you!" she exclaimed, wrapping the older man in a hug.

"Alexandra, are you honestly surprised? Mrs. Cabot has also sent Jerome and Li to see to your new charges," he told her warmly.

"Can you call Apollo up here?" Alex asked. Santana nodded and gave a high-pitched whistle. A few moments later, they heard the dog running up the stairs.

"Apollo, this is a friend," the black haired teen stated, allowing her dog to sniff Miles, who was standing still with a relaxed posture.

"My parents seem to have gotten rid of his collar and tags. Here's a leash you can loop around his neck, very carefully, and let him use the restroom until you get there. He's very friendly," she instructed. Miles nodded and took the leash, putting it around is body in a seemingly practiced gesture.

Santana, Quinn, Brittany, and Alex walked downstairs with Miles and Apollo following. She stood in front of the house, the door already locked and the key left behind, and tried not to cry. She succeeded for the most part and if anyone saw the tears on her face, they didn't say anything. She turned on her heel and opened her black 2010 four door Honda Ridgeline SE. Miles climbed in the driver's seat and she handed him the keys and allowed him to start it. She opened the doors to gain access to the back and placed an old sheet over the faux leather interior and prompted Apollo to lie down in the back.

"He'll stay back there quietly. If he needs to use the restroom, he'll let you know. Try not to play music to loud and he'll be ok. When you get him to wherever you are going tonight, just let him out in the main living area after letting him use the restroom. He'll sniff out everywhere and get a basis for what's going on. He understands commands in Spanish and in English though he's more familiar with Spanish," she told him, handing him a list of basic commands in Spanish. Miles nodded and set off for New York, the box of dog items in the passenger seat.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to the Pierce residence. Brittany couldn't hold her tears back as she led her girlfriend and the other two blonds inside and up to her room. By comparison, Brittany's room was a lot barer.

"B, how about you sit here on the bed and relax while we pack your clothing and things up," Santana told her gently, guiding her to the bed in the room. Brittany nodded and sat against the wall, hugging a stuffed unicorn to her chest.

"I'll pack her clothing, S get her personal things, and Alex grab anything else. Leave the bed alone. B hates it," Quinn stated, taking over and pulling suitcases out of the closet. She knelt down in front of the pale pink dresser and started packing up the items inside. She moved around and added a few photographs to the suitcase before leaving it in the room for the movers.

Santana taped up a box and moved it around. She set another one up and went to the blond on the bed.

"Britts, I need to pack all of your stuffed animals up," she said softly, reaching out and touching the girl's face.

"Remember to poke holes in the top so they can breathe," the blond replied absently. Santana chuckled and nodded, exaggeratedly poking holes in the box with her keys. She quickly packed all of the stuffed animals and novelty pillows.

"Did we forget anything, B? Where's Lord Tubbington?" Quinn asked, setting her box next to the little pile in the center of the room.

"Lord Tubbington is chasing butterflies in the great beyond," the blond replied, seeming to snap out of her daze. The other blond teen bit her lip and nodded to Alex. A dark skinned man entered the room, the movers following behind silently.

"Brittany, this is Jerome. He's going to drive your car up to New York," Alex told her niece. Brittany nodded and handed over the keys to her silver 2009 Hondo Civic Sedan.

"Be careful. Sometimes it likes to run away," she told him seriously. To Jerome's credit, he just nodded. Brittany left her key in the kitchen and walked out the front door of her childhood home for the last time.

"Are you ok?" Santana asked, wrapping an arm around the taller girl's waist. Brittany nodded.

"I've learned to just roll with the punches and I'm going to be sad for a long time but I have you and Quinn and Aunt Alex and Aunt Olivia and everyone else to help me through it," the blond replied, wiping a hand across her face.

"We just have one more to do and then the school. After that we'll go hang out at the hotel while Olivia takes care of her goddaughter," Alex told them, watching her one of her mother's assistants drive off with her niece's car.

Ten minutes later, they were at the Fabray residence. Quinn looked around and her face hardened as she jumped out of the car before the car even stopped.

"What the fuck Q?" Santana shouted before she could stop herself. And then she saw it, her face hardening just as much as the blond's. Alex looked around, her heart stopping as she saw Quinn kneeling next to a fluffy black mass. The three other women jumped out and ran up to the blond teen.

"Those fucking assholes. How dare they chain him up out here in the sun without any water?" the blond muttered as she used a hidden pocket knife to cut the rope that was knotted around the dog's neck.

Alex took a long look while Quinn and Santana worked to free the dog. Jack was a short-haired German Shepherd but the most interesting thing about him was his midnight black fur. She had never seen a purely black German Shepherd before! The dog had a beautiful coat and was harshly panting. The attorney pulled a water bottle out of her bag and opened it. She handed the bottle to Brittany and backed away from the dog as he sprang up with a growl.

"Calm down!" Quinn commanded. Jack quieted down and Brittany allowed him to drink from the water bottle. They all noticed that his collar and tags were missing, just like Apollo's. All members of the group got up and Santana and Brittany grabbed boxes.

"Follow," the other blond team commanded. Jack walked right beside her and they entered the house.

"Alert," Santana told him. Jack sat by the door to Quinn's bedroom.

"I'll handle my personal stuff, Santana pack up for Jack, Brittany and Alex will you grab my clothing?" the blond asked quietly, receiving nods in response.

"Actually, Alex can we go shopping for clothes in New York?" she asked, eyeing her collection of sundresses. The attorney quirked an eyebrow and nodded.

"Yeah, we'll get there late on Sunday night and then we'll spend Monday enrolling you ladies in school and shopping for things that you need," she told them. Quinn nodded. The blond walked around her room, picking up books and trinkets and placing them haphazardly in a box. She filled a further three boxes with books and pictures and then picked up a duffle bag and throwing all of her wanted accessories in it.

"Q, you have way too many books," Santana grunted, pushing a box heavy with books out of the way. Quinn smiled and got under her bed, pulling two locked trunks out.

"What's in those? More books?" the latina gently teased. Quinn chuckled and nodded.

"Of a certain kind," the blond winked. Brittany nodded sagely. Alex jumped as Jack leapt to his feet and let out a series of vicious barks.

"Hello?" the familiar voice of the head mover called.

"Safe," Quinn commanded and Jack fell silent.

"Beside me," she continued and the black dog came and sat next to her.

"Come on up!" Alex shouted, placing the last bag on the floor.

"This is the last load for right now. After you load this, will you meet Olivia Benson at 2145 West Clover Street? There will be another truck there and my partner will tell you which boxes go where," she told them as the movers entered the room. A stocky Asian woman followed behind them and Alex hugged her like an old friend.

"Quinn, Brittany, Santana, this is Li Winters. She'll be taking Jack to New York," their new guardian stated. Quinn gave her a guarded look.

"Friend," she told the dog softly. Jack gave a soft bark and licked the woman's hand.

"I have a leash in my purse. I'll be very careful with him," the woman told them softly. Quinn nodded and the movers began taking her belongings downstairs. She had also elected to leave her bedding behind.

Walking outside, Alex stared at the dark blue Honda Odyssey Minivan in the driveway.

"Why do you have a minivan?" she questioned. Quinn blushed before she schooled her features.

"I started off with a mini-cooper but after my Mom allowed my Dad to move back in, I asked to trade in for a Minivan. I told her it would make moving for college easier and it would appeal to boys that want a…family," she told them softly.

"Now what's the real reason?" Alex countered. Quinn sighed and bit her lip.

"The seats in the back come out and so it was easy to set up an air mattress back there and park in a twenty-four hour lot. I was able to keep Jack with me for protection," she told them, feeling like she could be honest at least about that. She was wrapped up in a tight hug from Brittany and she melted into the safe embrace.

"Never again. Where we are going, there will always be a bed for you and a safe environment," the girl promised softly, only allowing Quinn to hear. The shorter blond bit back tears and nodded, allowing the hug to last far longer than she had been comfortable before.

"Let's do this," she said. She walked over to Li and handed her the keys.

"He will listen to you. He's very well trained. Jack and Apollo know each other and will be fine together. You can feed him from Apollo's food," she told her. Li nodded and got in the van, starting it up. Quinn opened the sliding door and pulled an old but clean sheet over the seat.

"Get inside," she told her dog softly. He listened and whimpered as she hugged him, seeming to know that they were about to be separated.

"It'll only been for a few days," she promised. He woofed quietly and licked her cheek before settling down.

"Make sure you give him at least a bottle of water every few hours," she told the woman driving, giving her a glare. Li nodded and she pulled out of the driveway as the movers loaded the last box. Alex went over and talked to them quietly, handing something to each mover. Their eyes widened and she smiled at them. The van took off in the afternoon sun as Alex walked back over.

"Now, all we have to do is run to the school and drop off your books. Olivia will have already withdrawn you. You can go in and say any goodbyes you need to," she told them. All three nodded, and they set off to William McKinley High School.


End file.
